"It has been the misfortune of this age, that everything is to be discussed, as if the constitution of our country were to be always a subject rather of altercation than enjoyment." - Edmund Burke anticipates the Neverendum

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

New York Times article blocked

For UK readers, that is, for fear that this would be prejudicial to the forthcoming trial of those charged with the recent alleged plot to blow up civilian aircraft.

I'm not sure about this idea that the preservation of the presumption of innocence requires jurors to be isolated from media stories that presume guilt; it doesn't seem very realistic in the internet age.

And if the Home Office is concerned about this, wouldn't they be better employed re-considering the recent legal innovations where the presumption of innocence has been more explicitly and formally compromised?